Originally it acted as the port for the export of Iron Ore, then in order to obtain the renewal of the mining lease, BHP was forced by the then government of South Australia to build a blast furnace to smelt the ore into pig iron. This eventually led to the establishment of steel making, and ship building industries, which were very active during the period 1960 - 1980.

The viability of these industries so far from markets had progressively declined, culminating in closure of many operations and a decline in the local population. At its peak, during the mid 1980s, about 35,000 people lived there.